Slime And The Robot

Klaus-Peter Zauner of the University of Southampton, UK, developed a six-legged robot that is remotely controlled by Physarum polycephalum—a yellow slime that inhabits moist places, moves away from light and toward its food sources, bacteria and fungi. The mold, which can grow to be several meters long, responds to its environment through a series of tubes that are filled with cytoplasm.

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The nyctophobic robot is controlled by sensors mounted on the top of its body. The sensors connect remotely to six points of mold. Light shining on the robot is detected and replicated on the slime; its reactions to the light (to shy away) gives stimulus telling the robot's legs to get moving.

Zauner and colleagues brainstormed this odd creation while searching for a way to control a robot's movement that could more easily adapt to a complicated environment. Think pre-made biological nanocircuitry. The robot was presented at the Second International Workshop on Biologically Inspired Approaches to Advanced Information Technology, held in Osaka, Japan, on January 26 and 27.—Tyghe Trimble

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